


By Your Side

by koushizora



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Sengoku Era, War, like i mean medieval japan, so like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:13:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24717343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koushizora/pseuds/koushizora
Summary: Akaashi doesn't regret making some new friends and learning the warmth of Bokuto's hand.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	By Your Side

Bokuto and Akaashi have known each other for years. They grew up on different sides of the same town, but it was the same town nonetheless. 

Bokuto’s parents were farmers and naturally he helped out on the farm on the outskirts of the town. On the other hand, Akaashi’s parents ran an apothecary in the middle of the town and he learnt from them, ready to take over the family shop when he came of age. 

They met at a festival - Akaashi was a six-year-old who was far more quiet than others his age. His parents had insisted he played with the other kids in the games section of the festival while they went to grab some festival snacks for them. But he could only stand quietly under a plum blossom tree as he watched the other kids play. He didn’t know anyone here, let alone how to approach them. 

Just as he was about to lose hope and cry for his parents, a slightly taller boy walked up to him. The strange two-tone colour and style of his hair was the first thing Akaashi noticed about him. And the second was that his eyes were big and excited. 

“What’s your name?” the boy asked.

“K-Keiji… Akaashi Keiji…” 

“I’m Bokuto Koutarou! My friends and I bought too many sparklers, come play with us!”

“I’m uh… I’m not sure…” he tapped the tips of his fingers together nervously as he looked at the dirt. He figured his parents might get mad or scared if he went somewhere else.

Suddenly, Akaashi felt a warmth take over his right hand. His eyes widened as he looked to see that Bokuto had taken it. 

“It’ll be fine! I promise. We’ll just go up that hill!” 

Somehow, the younger boy just knew he could trust him and so he followed him.

“Bokuto! Who’s that?” a boy with dirty blonde hair asked, pointing to Akaashi.

“He’s our friend now! His name is Akaashi!” he replied enthusiastically.

“Oh!! Nice to meet you!” a shorter boy with brown hair grinned and handed Akaashi a little sparkler.

Right as he was about to speak, a loud bang went off and the sky was lit in bright colours. But Akaashi jumped, his grip on Bokuto’s hand tightening while the rest of the boys turned their attention to the night sky and clapped in awe.

“Are you scared of fireworks?” Bokuto whispered to him. Akaashi shook his head, clearly lying. Bokuto could tell that though, and gave his hand a squeeze before saying, “They won’t hit us! They’re just pretty! Like… like red and yellow stars!”

Akaashi gathered up his courage and looked at the sky before his eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful colours. Indeed, it was like stars were rising and exploding to join the many constellations already above them. 

He felt like he didn’t blink the whole time he watched the first firework show. 

There was a silence as the fireworks died down and the festival workers began preparing the next batch of illuminations.

“Um… B-Bokuto… Thank-” Akaashi wanted to thank Bokuto for bringing him up the hill and for holding his hand, but just as he was about to speak, the next fireworks went off.

“Woah! Akaashi, look! It’s so pretty!” Bokuto giggled and pointed up to the sky where blue and purple bloomed in the darkness. 

Akaashi turned to look, but not before examining Bokuto’s face. Especially the way his eyes were lit up. He looked like a star himself, he thought. Quietly, he turned to look up at the sky and smiled, “Yeah, it’s really pretty.”

Later that night he got scolded by his parents for leaving the area he was supposed to stay in, but Akaashi didn’t regret making some new friends and learning the warmth of Bokuto’s hand.

* * *

As Akaashi grew up, he started doing delivery runs for his parents. They were busy and getting a little older, so it wasn’t too easy for them to run around the town delivering medicines and ointments.

A place he had to visit once a week was Bokuto’s house. Bokuto’s parents were getting older as well, and daily farm work was getting to their joints and muscles so frequent deliveries of ointments were required. Bokuto had told Akaashi he would’ve come instead to collect it, but he had farmwork to do so the younger male had to make the trips himself (not that he minded anyways).

While Akaashi made his weekly visit to the Bokuto farm, he shivered slightly. It was summer but the air felt heavy and damp, and the grey sky along with the strong scent of petrichor told him that it would start to rain soon. 

The teen boy walked up the dirt path to the little farmhouse when he suddenly heard a loud, “Akaashi!!!”

He turned his head to see Bokuto standing in the field and waving a scythe around above his head. His eyes widened at the careless way he held the farming tool.

“Bokuto-san! Be careful with that-”

“I know, Akaashi! Hey, help me out a bit would you?” pointing to the two large carts piled high with freshly harvested rice stalks. 

Akaashi spent a moment wondering if he could be of much help, and if he had the time to help. Eventually he figured he could spend a short time helping out his friend as he was the last stop on his delivery trip anyways. He readjusted the strap of his bag with the medicine and jogged over to the cart. Bokuto heaped the last bit of rice in his arms onto the carts and the two of them began pushing it towards the storehouse. 

“It looks like it’s going to rain.” the younger male said casually while looking over at the older one.

“Hm… yeah, but it’s good if it rains! It’ll be all sunny and hot next week so the plants need all the water they can get!” Bokuto grinned as they began pushing the carts.

Sure enough, right before they reached the storehouse, a loud clap of thunder crashed and heavy drops of rain fell upon the farm. Despite it being a summer month, the heat had been replaced by a chill from the winds and rain. They rushed into the storehouse and carefully stored away the still dry stalks of rice.

Akaashi looked out of the window of the storehouse. It wasn’t storming to the point you couldn’t see, but they would most certainly get fully soaked within seconds if they tried to go outside. Their clothes were already slightly damp despite being caught outside for less than a minute.

“Bokuto-san, I think we have to stay here for a while.” he said. They couldn’t tell how long this rain would last for but judging by the colour of the sky, it would be for a while. 

“Huh…” Bokuto pouted as he peeked out of the window too.

“It can’t be helped.” Akaashi sighed and carefully closed the window to prevent moisture from entering the storehouse. 

Luckily enough, there was a metal bucket in the storehouse they could use to hold a small fire for warmth and light. The two of them sat in front of it, hands outstretched to keep themselves warm. Even if they were so close to it, it barely felt warm enough.

“You know, Konoha told me there’s this animal called a penguin. They live in the really far south of the world.” Bokuto suddenly said. Akaashi raised an eyebrow, wondering why he suddenly remembered that among the many things they talked about while sitting in the storehouse. “It’s so far south that the land is just made of ice!” 

“Is that possible? It’s warmer down south than north though.” Akaashi questioned.

“Yeah! That’s what I said, but he said that the world is a circle and it becomes cold in the south again. I don’t really get that, and I don’t think I’ll ever go that far. But it’s cool right?” Bokuto spoke with a sort of enthusiasm that made Akaashi’s chest somehow feel warm. The smile on the elder’s face made him want to smile as well, although it was far more subtle.

“Mm, that does sound really cool.”

“Wait, anyways! I’m saying this because he says penguins like to hug together to keep warm. Maybe we should try that!” 

Akaashi’s eyes widened before an expression of disbelief came to his face, “Y-You want to- You want to… hug me?”

Bokuto cocked his head, “Is that weird?”

“Isn’t hugging reserved for couples?”

“Huh… I guess so, but no one has to know! I think we hugged a lot when we were kids too!”

The younger man’s cheeks turned pink - Bokuto was right. Though he was unsure why the thought of hugging him suddenly had him so flustered. Especially with the fact that their yukata and samue were hanging to dry on a rack, leaving them nearly naked, he wondered if that level of skin-to-skin contact was okay for the two of them.

“Akaashi, you’re shivering.” 

Before he realised it, Bokuto had sat by his side and wrapped a muscular arm around his smaller frame.

At first, Akaashi had become so stiff that one would think he was a statue. But after a few seconds, he learnt to relax his body and lean his head against Bokuto’s shoulder. He wondered if the intense warmth he was now feeling was coming from his friend or from his own cheeks due to how flustered he was.

“This is… nice.”

“I think so too.” 

Bokuto grinned and rested his head against Akaashi who had also given a small smile.

* * *

“Bokuto-san! We won’t have a good spot to view the fireworks!” Akaashi reminded, tugging on the older’s sleeve.

“Wait, wait, Akaashi!” Bokuto whined as he collected his change from the stall vendor and stuffed it into his little coin pouch. He then passed a few sticks of yakiniku to the younger man, “We should get Miya-kun’s onigiri after the fireworks but firstly Kuroo-kun’s yakiniku is the best!”

It had been a few years since the day in the storehouse. The two were now adults but still stayed just as close as they were when they were back then, perhaps even closer.

“Oh, thanks, Bokuto-san.” Akaashi took the skewer before heading up the hill with Bokuto. There were plenty of families and couples watching the fireworks tonight down in the town but he had always preferred to go to the hilltop. Maybe it was because it was the same setting as the first night he met Bokuto, or because it was a little more quiet. He didn’t really mind whichever the reason was as long as Bokuto watched the fireworks with him like he did every year.

As the first fiery flowers bloomed in the sky, Bokuto gasped, “They’re pretty, aren’t they, Akaashi?”

“Mm, I agree.”

The two sat with their shoulders just touching each other, eating their yakiniku sticks as they watched bright colours explode in the sky. Quietly, Akaashi shifted his hand to rest on top of Bokuto’s. 

The older man looked at him in surprise, eyes looking down at their hands and back up at Akaashi’s face which was still facing the fireworks. 

He was surprised to say the least; it was always him who chose to initiate contact between them. Usually he asked Akaashi to go places, or would be the one to sling his arm around his shoulders. So this change made his heart skip a beat in ecstasy as he turned back to face the sky.

A few minutes later, the fireworks had died down and the movement and sound from down the hill sounded like most people were beginning to head home though the two men stayed sat on the hill, gazing at the twinkling stars in silence.

“Akaashi, did you hear about the draft?” 

“Yeah…”

“I’m leaving in two days. I think this might be our last night together.”

Akaashi’s eyes widened as he looked at Bokuto, “You don’t… you don’t seriously intend to die for that stupid daimyo, do you?”

“Huh, no way. I don’t even wanna go!” Bokuto sighed and laid on his back in the soft but slightly prickly grass, “But I don't want to see our town hurt even more.”

“I see.” Akaashi mumbled in reply and laid down beside Bokuto.

Truth be told, he had also been wondering if he should enter the army as well. There was a potential he didn’t have to join, working in an apothecary, but the chances were they would still ask for at least one man in his family to serve. And his weak ageing father definitely would not have been able to do that. But he also wondered if it would’ve been okay for him to join. While he was strong, he didn’t quite have the sort of strength that some others would have. He didn’t want to be considered a burden, and he wondered if-

“I wonder what you’re thinking about.” Bokuto smiled, rolling over onto his side so he could face Akaashi. Those words immediately brought him out of his wandering thoughts and he rolled over to face him too.

“Just… wondering what would happen if I went.” Akaashi’s tone was nonchalant, unlike the way his thoughts were in his head just moments before. Bokuto’s smile dropped.

“Don’t tell me you’re-”

“I don’t know yet.”

“It’s dangerous, you know!”

“But you’re going too.”

“Because I don’t have a choice!”

That was true, and Akaashi knew that. He knew there was a chance that Bokuto might leave and not return, and there was nothing they could do about it. And if that was the case then Akaashi wanted to spend every moment he could with Bokuto, even if it was on a bloody battlefield. He wondered why he cared so much anyways. It was just a part of life right? Everyone dies in the end, it’s just a matter of when you do. With his other friends, he could understand their reasons for joining the army and while he was originally sad, he didn't try particularly hard to talk them out of it. So why did he want to cling so desperately onto Bokuto? 

“How about you stay here. I promise I’ll come back!” Bokuto smiled in an attempt to reassure Akaashi.

“I think I’ll go too.”

“Oi, did you listen to what I just said? I know you’re worried about me not coming back, but I don’t want you to go either. I promise I’ll come home.” he frowned.

“It’s not just about that…” Akaashi lied.

“Then what is it about?” Bokuto turned his friend to face him though Akaashi couldn’t look him in the eye.

Right then, Akaashi realised why he couldn’t let him go so easily.

“I don’t want to see you go.” he simply said, holding back the rest of his thoughts.

“Akaashi, that’s the same thing. I’ll come back and everything will be fine! Look at me,” he sat up to jokingly flex his biceps with the biggest grin on his face, “I’m gonna be all fine and then I’ll come back and we can watch the fireworks again like this! And next year when we’re sitting here I’ll be all, ‘Hey, you worried for nothing, Akaashi!’” 

“Well of course I’d be worried even if you’re that strong.” Akaashi mumbled. He just realised he had been gripping tightly onto his yukata as he tried to hold back from letting his feelings pour out from him like a dam bursting.

“Well, even if that’s the case, then I still don’t understand why you would wanna go too.” Bokuto pouted and crossed his arms.

Akaashi took in a deep breath, unable to hold his thoughts back anymore, and sat up to face Bokuto properly.

“I don’t want you to leave me because I want to spend more time with you. I don’t want to see you go, and I certainly don’t want to lose the most important person in my life,” he snapped at him. 

Bokuto became speechless for once. 

“I’m the most important person to you?”

Akaashi’s cheeks turned pink as he realised what he had said, but he knew there was no going back now. 

“Ever since that night when we were kids,” his voice was soft as his hands slowly lost their grip on his yukata, “I thought you were so cool. I wanted to be by your side. I still do.”

There was a minute of silence between them as Bokuto tried to compile his thoughts. The bustling of the people down the hill suddenly felt so loud, and Akaashi felt like he might go deaf from the sound of the cicadas in the nearby forest. He tapped his fingertips together, waiting for a response as he stared at the bright moon and the many stars which dotted the dark blanket known as the sky.

As he looked over, he was confused to see Bokuto grinning to himself.

“You should’ve said something earlier, Akaashi!” he chuckled, shuffling closer to sit right next to Akaashi. Their shoulders pressed against each other and somehow Akaashi felt like his sides were unproportionate in terms of warmth. 

“I don’t understand…”

“I felt the same way since then. And if you wanna go, then I’ll just have to make sure I’m looking after you there too!”

Akaashi felt like his face couldn’t get any warmer.

“You… you want to spend more time with me?”

“Yeah. If I could, I’d love to spend all of my life with you!” Bokuto grinned and took Akaashi’s hand in his, “Would you let me spend the rest of my life with you by my side?”

Akaashi became flustered, cheeks red and eyes wide as his hands had become encased in Bokuto’s warmer ones. Slowly, a grin found its way onto his face as well and he leaned forward to press his forehead against Bokuto’s.

“Yes. I would love that.”

* * *

Akaashi sighed as he sat on a foldable chair with his helmet in his lap, exhausted from the battle before. He had managed to escape with only minor scratches and a long but shallow gash in his calf, but it had already been patched up by one of the medics. 

More than himself, he was worried about Bokuto. Now that the fight had ended, the two of them could return to their town. They could live the quiet happy life they dreamed of and were used to.

The thought of that made him smile slightly, tapping the tips of his fingers together as he waited for him to return. He reminisced of the town and his memories with Bokuto; of the time they met at the festival, of the time they got stuck in the storehouse, of the time they got lost in the nearby forest looking for herbs, and especially of the time they confessed their feelings to each other on the hill… all of those were precious memories and Akaashi couldn’t wait to make more with his beloved.

“Hey, do you know where Bokuto-san is?” 

“Not sure… he hasn’t returned yet.”

A loud clang sounded and heads turned.

Akaashi hadn’t even realised he had stood up so erratically. 

“S-Sorry.” he muttered and sat back down, carefully picking up the helmet and putting it back into his lap as he eavesdropped on the soldiers walking by.

The soldiers returned to their conversation,

“He might be looking for injured soldiers. He did that last time didn’t he?”

“Yeah… He’s always looking after everyone.”

“Still, he’s taking longer than usual. The lord is waiting for him to return with a report.” 

“That’s true... Oh, shit. I think I remember someone said he got hit by an arrow…” 

“What?!” the soldiers’ voices had lowered into whispers but Akaashi could still hear it. 

“Yeah. Someone told me that.”

“But… it’s Bokuto-san, he can definitely survive that right? I’m sure he’s fine! We’ll see him soon!”

“Mm… I hope so.”

The two soldiers concluded their gossiping about the man before beginning to talk about how they couldn’t wait to go home to see their loved ones. Akaashi on the other hand could no longer sit still, knowing that his own loved one was injured.

Despite the heaviness and pain in his limbs due to exhaustion and an injury, he carefully and quietly slipped out of the camp and towards the battlefield. Small fires from arrows and bombs were still burning dryer patches of grass, and broken spears and arrows laid strewn over the wide field. The stench of gunpowder, smoke, and blood rose, and Akaashi became nauseous as he remembered the fearful face of the man he had struck down not more than four hours ago.

What was once a beautiful field of flowers and soft grass had become a broken and burnt land. 

But he had to continue searching the battlefield for Bokuto. Even with the searing pain in his leg and a nauseating feeling of worry and stress building in his throat, he had to find him. 

“Bokuto-san… Bokuto-san, where are you?” he called out as he stepped over dead bodies and abandoned weapons. 

There was no answer. 

“Bokuto-san!” his voice gradually became louder as all he heard in response was the cold wind blowing and his own footsteps crunching the grass under him. 

“Bokuto! Please! Say something!” hot tears were coming to his eyes as the thought of losing his beloved came to him. He tried to push the thought away but it was like a pressure in the back of his mind, getting stronger and stronger and turning from a blunt push to a sharp point.

“Bokuto?!” The pain in his heart and head were beginning to outweigh the pain in his calf.

“KOUTAROU!” Akaashi’s tired voice screamed in raw agony as the tears finally fell, drawing a streak through the dirt which had been splattered onto his face from the battle that day.

The man fell to his knees, face in his hands. In that moment he realised he had lost his love and his future. He couldn’t have been there for him, he couldn’t support him. As selfish as it was, Akaashi wished he could’ve been there in his last moments. If he could’ve held his warmer hands just once more… And that selfishness saddened him the most. 

“Akaashi… here…” a scratchy voice sounded. The soldier immediately looked up, eyes scanning the battlefield before seeing a hand weakly waving. 

He would’ve known that hand anywhere. 

With all his energy, Akaashi pushed himself up onto his feet and began running in that direction. His feet ached and the pain in his leg was stronger than ever but he ignored all that. Despite his stumbling and limping, he made his way to Bokuto’s side.

“Akaashi… what are you doing here?” the older male spoke in a crackly voice. Akaashi fumbled to pull his water skin from his belt before helping to lift Bokuto’s head. 

“Bokuto-san, please drink.” he slowly poured the little amount of water remaining past his lips before helping to remove his helmet. 

“That’s good… it was so suffocating in that hat.” he chuckled lightly.

“Bokuto-san-”

“You know, you don’t have to call me that, Keiji.”

“S-Sorry, force of habit. A-Are you okay? What ha-” 

His face paled as he looked over Bokuto’s body and saw the gaping wound in his shoulder as well as the slash down the side of his torso. Blood soaked his clothes and had dried, forming a sticky flaky crust. That was when he saw the blood that trickled down from Bokuto’s head. It wasn’t a cut from a sword but something must’ve hit his helmet pretty hard. 

Akaashi’s hands trembled as he tried to remember what was the correct order of first aid. _“Which wound do I treat first? The shoulder is the deepest wound and the arrow could have been poisoned, but the other places are more important… The torso has the longest cut, but his head is still bleeding a bit. Should I attend to the head first? No, obviously the-_ ”

“Akaashi, you’re thinking too much.”

The man tensed up as his thoughts were easily read. “Bokuto... I’ll- I’ll call for help. I can’t heal you on my own.” he said, just about to get up and limp his way back to the camp when a weak hand gripped onto his pant leg.

“Don’t go.”

“But… but I have to get someone.”

“I won’t make it.”

The wind blowing never felt so loud in the few seconds of silence that followed. 

“You don’t know that. Bokuto-san, I’ll take you there! I’ll carry you!” 

“You can’t, Akaashi. You’re hurt too and I’m too heavy.”

“I can do it! If it’s for you, I can do it!” 

Bokuto’s heart broke at the sound of desperation in Akaashi’s voice. He was always so soft-spoken and calm. He always analysed the situation carefully and knew what was the right thing to do. He was always the more rational one between the two of them yet this time he wasn’t. 

“Come on, Bokuto-san, I’ll take you-”

“Stop it, Keiji!” 

His rough and calloused hands gripped onto Akaashi’s more slender hands with all his remaining strength, tears threatening to fall. Akaashi froze for a second before his shoulders slumped. He had realised the harsh truth too.

The air became heavy with despair. Even with the cool wind blowing, it felt hard to breathe.

Bokuto loosened his grip on Akaashi slightly. He didn’t want to be sad in his last moments. Even if there were so many regrets he had right now, he was at least grateful he could have died with one of his wishes in mind; to be by Akaashi’s side.

“Just stay with me, please, Keiji?”

“Of course, Koutarou.”

Akaashi tightened his grip on Bokuto’s hands. They were always so much warmer than his own, but this time they were ice cold. He carefully laced their fingers together and gave his hands a tight squeeze, as if holding onto Bokuto’s hands was equivalent to holding onto his life which was slowly slipping away. 

“Your hands are so warm today, Akaashi.” Bokuto giggled lightly, his eyelids feeling heavy as he looked over to Akaashi. The younger man couldn’t help but crack a smile in return at the sight of that bright smile.

“I think it’s just that you’re cold, Bokuto.”

“That’s not very nice, Akaashi.”

“It’s not nice to lie either.” 

There was a choked laugh as Bokuto agreed to his words. It quietly died down as he could no longer maintain his grip on Akaashi’s hands. 

“I’m sorry we couldn’t go to the fireworks festival this year.” his usually boisterous and enthusiastic voice was little more than a whisper at this point. 

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” 

_“You’ll have the best spot to view it from now on.”_ Akaashi wondered if he should’ve said it but kept quiet. 

“Remember… the storehouse? It’s kinda cold… just like then.” Bokuto managed to smile though his voice was becoming quieter with every word he spoke. He wondered since when the taste of blood had become present in his mouth.

“Yeah. It’s cold today, isn’t it?”

“Do you think… you can come closer?” 

“Of course.” 

Akaashi shuffled forward so his legs were pressed against Bokuto’s torso just gently.

The two of them were still for a moment before Bokuto suddenly laughed quietly. It hurt Akaashi to see him laughing while in such pain but he thought it was at least a hundred times better than seeing him cry. 

“What are you thinking about, Bokuto-san?”

“That I got to spend the rest of my life with you.”

There was a moment’s pause before Akaashi started chuckling softly too as he tried to hold back his sobs, a tear sliding down his cheek, “I don’t think this is how we pictured it to be.”

“No, not at all. But it’s fine,” Bokuto weakly reached up to wipe away the tear, smudging the dirt on Akaashi’s cheek, “I’m happy like this.” 

As he said that, a few tears began to escape the corners of his eyes. 

“If you’re happy, then I’m happy.” Akaashi whispered as he leaned down so that their faces were closer together. 

The two of them continued to just quietly laugh together for a minute or two, holding each others’ hands until Bokuto’s laughter died down.

“Keiji.”

“Yes, Koutarou?”

“I love you, Keiji.”

“I love you too, Koutarou.”

“That’s good to know.”

Bokuto smiled softly and closed his eyes as Akaashi leaned forward to press their foreheads together.

A few seconds later, a soft sigh sounded and Akaashi felt Bokuto’s grip loosen.

With that, Keiji’s sobs finally escaped him.

**Author's Note:**

> hello there!  
> i meant to post this later but i really wanted to do it now >:/// so i hope you enjoyed reading it! i'm still figuring out writing so i hope it was alright :,)  
> the prompt for this fic was "Touch"


End file.
